Improve Your Dog’s Skills Through Mental Stimulation

Do you want to keep your dog busy and entertained? You can level up their intellectual skills by adding more mentally stimulating activities to their routine. Most pet owners make the mistake of involving their pups in more physical exercise to tire them rather than brain games. Mental stimulation is essential to alleviate boredom as they minimize the likelihood of developing behavioral issues in pups such as excessive barking and chewing. If you’re looking for different ways to engage your dog’s brain, we’ve listed some ways to give your canine more mental stimulation.

ACTIVITIES TO ENGAGE YOUR DOGS

Allow your dog to sniff and explore on walks

Taking your pooch on a walk is one of the most exciting parts of your pup’s day, and you can make it more interesting. While taking your dog on the walk, you can allow it to stop and sniff around to enrich its sensory experience. You’ve probably gone down your street a million times, but it doesn’t mean that your dog won’t discover new and stimulating things every day. If you don’t feel comfortable allowing your dog to direct you on walks, you can set aside specific locations or times for free exploring. Simply teach your dog some commands, like “go sniff” or “come back,” and then let it wander around for a time.

Get dog puzzle toys

Dog puzzle toys are a fantastic and easy way to keep your dog occupied and entertained. Puzzles are actually stimulating toys that keep your dog focused on a task and offer other important cognitive stimulation. With only a supplementary 20-minute game daily, you will see major improvements in your pup’s behavior. Because they’ll have something to focus on, dog puzzle toys provide your dog the chance to use some of its natural problem-solving skills. And by keeping your dog active with stimulating toys, you can boost their confidence and mentally drain them.

Introduce new tricks to your dog

Haven’t taught your dog any tricks yet? Now is the right time. Trick training helps with mental stimulation and it can be particularly beneficial for shy or timid dogs. With trick training, your dog’s confidence will improve, which also helps strengthen your bond with your pooch. Additionally, learning new instructions helps improve your dog’s attention and trigger positive behavior. One of the easiest tricks to teach your pup is weaving between legs and it looks really cool.

Involve your dog in some nose games

It’s quite easy to assist your dog in improving one of its innate skills by having them use its nose to discover different items around. Constant hunting can also give your dog a lot more intellectual stimulation, so you can try hiding different treats in your home. While any snack will do the job, we advise starting off with something having a strong smell because it takes a few attempts to really get the idea of it.

DIY an obstacle course for your dog

If you want to teach your dog how to go through an obstacle course, start off with an agility tunnel and add higher jumps or poles to the course later. Even if you aren’t crafty enough, you can use different toys and a few hazard signs from a local thrift store to DIY the obstacle course.

WRAPPING UP

One of the easiest and most interesting ways to keep your dog engaged, peaceful and comfortable is by keeping its brain busy. Stimulating your pooch’s brain is more enjoyable than you can imagine, and doing so has different benefits for both you and your dog. It not only helps you train your dog better but also allows you to spend quality time with your pet, so try different mental stimulation games right away!